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Chasing the Dead: A Novel
“You have a very lovely little girl,” breathed the voice on the phone. And just like that, Susan Young is drawn into a living nightmare.
A stranger has kidnapped Sue’s daughter, Veda. But he doesn’t want her money, only her suffering–and he will kill Veda if Sue doesn’t follow his every command. With detailed instructions, the faceless abductor leads Sue into a blinding sno...more
A stranger has kidnapped Sue’s daughter, Veda. But he doesn’t want her money, only her suffering–and he will kill Veda if Sue doesn’t follow his every command. With detailed instructions, the faceless abductor leads Sue into a blinding sno...more
Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages
Published
September 25th 2007
by Ballantine Books
(first published September 26th 2006)
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Susan Young has a dark secret and she is about to have the worst night of her life. Within a matter of minutes, her world goes from normal to terrifying. Her young daughter has been kidnapped by someone who knows more about her burden than she does. In a mixture of snow, tears, and blood; Sue has to follow precise instructions given to her by the kidnapper if she ever wants to see her daughter alive again. Even if it means to literally dig up her dark past.
During her journey into...more
During her journey into...more
Wow, that was a hell of a ride! I looked at this book and thought, OK the story idea sounds good - woman gets put through the wringer when her daughter is kidnapped, then I saw that the book was just shy of 200 pages. OK so now I am wondering just how much the author can fit into this limited amount of space. Now after finishing this I will say that Joe Screiber is a genius, and one scary dude. I cannot tell you too much about this book and for that I am sorry. I would feel horrible if I gave so...more
This read like a book based on a B-movie based on a screenplay written under duress. Not bad, necessarily, but not very good. I gave it three stars because I think I would really have enjoyed it when I was about 15. As a YA horror, it has a balance of blood and action, a couple nude scenes (but no sex), an easy-to-follow plot, and "summary" explanations toward the end. So for the 13 - 17 age crowd, it would probably be a fun read with the promise of fitful sleep to follow. But for...more
If I could do half stars, I'd give this book three-point-five. I actually enjoyed the book very much and read it all in one night. I had two major problems with it that prevented me from giving it a solid four or even a five: 1) The "omigod!" ending of nearly every one of the many short chapters got really old, and 2) I cannot believe that near the end of the book the villain explains his entire history and motive to his victim by monologuing. SO lame! Other than those two factors...more
This is not my usual read. This definitely falls into horror; I haven't read any horror other than The Stand by Stephen King since high school. The author is local, the book is NOT self-published and I was stuck in the bathroom sans book.
It is an extremely compelling book. I could hardly be bothered to put it aside for trivialities such as parenting and hurricane prep. I did the unthinkable and finished it in a day!
The story takes place over one night as Sue, the protagonist...more
It is an extremely compelling book. I could hardly be bothered to put it aside for trivialities such as parenting and hurricane prep. I did the unthinkable and finished it in a day!
The story takes place over one night as Sue, the protagonist...more
A phone call is all it takes to throw Sue Young’s life upside down. Her daughter is kidnapped and Sue is led on a trail across country, to make amends for something she did as a child. This is a gripping story, told in a brisk present tense (and almost real time), that is so simple you know Joe Schreiber must have spent ages working on the structure. Placed squarely in Sue’s shoes, the reader puts together the clues about Isaac Hamilton and The Engineer as she does and Schreiber never lets up...more
Already a fan of Schrieber after his No Doors No Windows, I was completely spellbound by Sue's tale in Chasing the Dead. From the moment it starts it doesn't let you go and you find yourself behind the dashboard alongside Sue as she drives the crooked trail through Massachusetts in pursuit of a madman who has kidnapped her daughter and the family nanny.
The inventiveness of what Sue must go through in order to reach the final pages of the book blew my mind. Things I would never have dre...more
The inventiveness of what Sue must go through in order to reach the final pages of the book blew my mind. Things I would never have dre...more
Kathleen Garber
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those looking for a scary story with a new plot
I don't normally read horror novels, in fact I think this is the second one ever. However when looking for books for this challenge, the synopsis of this book caught my eye. I am glad I gave it a chance, it is now a top 10 book of this year I'm sure!
Unlike most novels, the entire story happens in one night, December 21st to be exact.
"Sue Young, a 34-year-old single mom living in Boston, gets a phone call from a man who informs her he's kidnapped her infant daughter, Veda,...more
Unlike most novels, the entire story happens in one night, December 21st to be exact.
"Sue Young, a 34-year-old single mom living in Boston, gets a phone call from a man who informs her he's kidnapped her infant daughter, Veda,...more
When the only child of single mother Sue Young is kidnapped she begins to get mysterious phone calls instructing her to perform unpleasant tasks, including digging up a mysterious parcel along a historic driving route in New England. The story quickly turns supernatural with elements of a long-dead serial killer and zombie attacks. While the action becomes gorier by the page, the chill factor increases exponentially. The story hangs together fairly well with Sue fighting to the death--and be...more
I listened to this sci-fi (-ish) mystery with a historical theme book on several long drives during our vacation. A woman gets sent on a multi-town "road-trip". She is working against the clock to reach the "prize" - her kidnapped baby daughter. The woman has a dark secret that she discovers is related to her supernatural odyssey. There is a lot of blood, gore and creepy zombies along the way. Sounds unusual but it kept me engaged.
This is a fast paced supernatural thriller that takes place over the course of one night. What begins with what feels like a story about a serial killer quickly disintegrates into a world of ancient evil and death at every turn.
“You have a very lovely little girl,” breathed the voice on the phone. Sue Young will do anything to save her daughter. Secrets from her past come back to haunt her as she follows the instructions of her daughters abductor.
Mr. Schreiber does a wonderf...more
“You have a very lovely little girl,” breathed the voice on the phone. Sue Young will do anything to save her daughter. Secrets from her past come back to haunt her as she follows the instructions of her daughters abductor.
Mr. Schreiber does a wonderf...more
I read this book in just about one sitting. I am a sucker for novels that have a 24 hour time period and the chapters are divided up by the hour or minute etc.
The characters don't really have much depth to them, but the plot moved along at a break neck pace, it this books was more about the story and mystery than the charcters. they could have been interchangable for the most paart.
The characters don't really have much depth to them, but the plot moved along at a break neck pace, it this books was more about the story and mystery than the charcters. they could have been interchangable for the most paart.
this was a good book from the start. It lead you to believe that you were in for a story of mystery and suspense, that ended up being a story of ridiculous paranormal proportions. Even with that though it was an easy read and at least I didn't feel like i wasted my time.
Single mom Sue Young receives a phone call from someone who has kidnapped her 1 year old daughter. Thus begins a frantic night of following the kidnapper's directions that bring Sue back into her past that she's tried to forget. Supernatural elements.
Pretty good! The present-tense, third person point of view was a bit distracting at some points, but I enjoyed reading it. The book is short. I might post a longer review on ye olde blog some time soonish.
It was a very fast read, which was good. I don't think I would have liked it had it dragged on. A very interesting adventure, that was a little far fetched, but still fun.
Going back over the books I read this year I can't remember a single thing about this one. I give it 2 stars because I finished it so it must not have been abysmal.
For some reason I've been plowing through thrillers lately.
This one was a fun diversion. The end was slightly lame but didn't spoil the whole experience either.
This one was a fun diversion. The end was slightly lame but didn't spoil the whole experience either.
This book is freakishly scary, bloody, and emotionally charged. The ending has twist I don't think you will guess correctly. I loved it!
Wow, great ride through a scary night, I'd say read this if you like Stephen King! The ending...hmmm...what just happened?
I do not usually read horror but this was pretty good. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I enjoyed it...
layed out like the script of a movie, was still a good read, took me only three days because I was at work
Very fast paced, twisted plot - thought the plot was silly. Read it in one day.
Great scary perfectly paced read. Perfect for a snowy winter night!
Quick interesting read. The ending was a bit cliche.
Perfect Halloween read. Spooky and surprising!
Excellent!! Edge of your seat read!
Very twisted plot!!! So good!!
Very fast paced.
It was fast-paced enough that I finished it in about 48 hours, but otherwise, I don't have terribly good things to say.
Granted, it was just a thriller I picked up to scare me and keep me from thinking about reality for a while, but...
The writing seemed heavy-handed. The topic wasn't my favorite- I thought it would be more supernatural, but it also had a lot of murder and kid-killing, which I don't care for. Parts of the story didn't make sense, and the end was kind of s...more
Granted, it was just a thriller I picked up to scare me and keep me from thinking about reality for a while, but...
The writing seemed heavy-handed. The topic wasn't my favorite- I thought it would be more supernatural, but it also had a lot of murder and kid-killing, which I don't care for. Parts of the story didn't make sense, and the end was kind of s...more
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| This book made #9 on TOP 10 THRILLER NOVELS... | 1 | 6 | Apr 02, 2009 08:29pm |
